Jackson, who passed away in June 2009 at the age of 50, reportedly earned $170 million over the past 12 months. The King of Pop reached the number one ranking largely through sales of his back catalogue, royalties earned through his music publishing company Mijac Music and his cut in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing Catalogue, which includes a number of Beatles classics.

Rounding out the top five were Elvis in second place with $55 million, Marilyn Monroe with $27 million, Peanut’s cartoonist Charles Schulz ($25 million! Good Grief!), and John Lennon and Elizabeth Taylor ($12 milliona piece). Despite this achievement, Jackson’s earning have taken a tumble since last year when he raked in $275 million, primarily through record sales and the This Is It documentary.